Do Not Drink Tide… Even If Its New Packaging Looks Just Like Boxed Wine

As if Tide Pods, which look like candy, weren’t bad enough, the detergent brand has come out with new packaging that looks a lot like a box of wine.

On Friday, Procter & Gamble debuted its “Tide Eco-Box,” designed for people who order their detergent online.

According to a press release, the company plans to start shipping Tide for e-commerce customers in a cardboard box that includes a twist-to-open spout, a pull-out stand and a measuring cup. Liquid detergent comes in a sealed bag in the box.

Tide / Procter & Gamble
The Tide Eco-Box after it's been set up.

This new design uses 60 percent less plastic and 30 percent less water than the current 150 oz. press-tap version of Tide, Procter & Gamble says. It requires less packaging than shipping a bottle of detergent because it doesn’t need those extra layers of cardboard boxing or bubble wrap. And the company says it’s lighter and takes up less room in delivery trucks, so it costs less to ship.

The new packing will be available through big online retailers like Amazon starting in January, per BuzzFeed.

Although this all sounds completely practical, Tide’s new look — which resembles a big ol’ box of booze — has created quite a stir on Twitter.

People were particularly struck by the new design because earlier this year, health officials felt the need to urge the public not to eat Tide Pods. A meme called the “Tide Pod Challenge,” an ongoing joke about eating the small packs of detergent, had led to the hospitalization of some teens.

People are concerned about kids drinking this? I have to find a way to keep this away from my 98-year-old mom Maggie! She’s going to see the box and think she’s found her new favorite wine! https://t.co/jNfTCDl8Oq

If they don’t want us to eat it why do they keep making it seem so delicious? First they make it look like candies and now it looks like a box of wine. Does Tide have social Darwinists making their products? #ThinOutTheHerdpic.twitter.com/hdDyHesp8N

Although you should never, ever eat or drink detergent, this new packaging does lead us to wonder if Tide truly is unaware that its packaging resembles food and beverage products. Or is it secretly in on the joke?

Tide pointed out to BuzzFeed that there is “a large picture of our Tide bottle on the side of the box.”